Hello My Hooded Friend

Considering she was already in an area that Ezio had been spotted in, Ealasaid decided to walk along its streets, but if he was a properly trained assassin, then it would be safe to assume that he not only was probably blending in with the crowds, but also taking direction in places that citizens wouldn't normally go. To coincide with this strategy of finding the Italian hunter, Ealasaid decided to venture to a docking area where they kept the elongated boats. Paying a good amount to the merchant, she had him row her around so she could maybe cover more ground in secrecy. This objective may have proven to be quit annoying up till this point, but it reaped its rewards in its own way. As the boat began to row, she was given a small tour through the many watery streets that went under multiple small bridges as they passed by the beautiful architecture where many designs could be seen and flower pots that hung over wooden pedestals that stuck out of the walls.

While passing under bridges she took careful notice of any strange sounds that might emit into the air. For instance the sound of screams from the rooftops that would most likely be caused by a ruckus with the guards going after a target that wasn't authorized to be roaming where they were not allowed; a common assassin running ground. To her dismay, the sounds around her were nothing more than the bustling of citizens and merchants selling their prized items. It was irritating despite being given leading clues to find this man, this Ezio Auditore. The sun was now ever so slightly beginning to set, giving Ealasaid the advantage since she was more accustomed to chasing targets at night, but finding Ezio would be even more impossible since he would most likely be sleeping at this time. It seemed this mission further proved that every advantage had just an equal of a disadvantage that was proving tiring.

Wanting to stretch out her muscles, she laid on her back with arms behind the head and staring up at the sky. It was refreshing to see the world in different perspectives and angles, always wondering what it's like being an insect and being able to crawl into the nooks and crannies of spaces in between and seeing entirely different worlds right under the feet. The boat riding was proving to be rather soothing as she closed her eyes and let the sounds of the environment echo into her mind; the rustling water, the passing of chirping birds, the footsteps of citizens passing by over the bridges, and mostly the sounds of nearby musicians. It was almost therapeutic and for several minutes she was entranced by the watered city, but that trance was quickly broken but a sudden ill feeling. Quickly opening her eyes she laid back on her forearms slightly while looking around with sharp eyes. It was the palpable sensation of being watched as the boat rowing merchant began to approach another small bridge and as they approached close to it, it was then Ealasaid noticed a strange clothed man standing with arms crossed and leaning up against a wall adjacent to the one in front of him. His head was hooded, but she could feel him staring straight at her through shadowed eyes.

Quickly taking out the parchment of the wanted poster, she compared the strange man with the poster as they approached closer, nearing under the bridge and it was then she realized that the man had to be Ezio. The clothing matched the description the doctor had told her and the poster...

Finally, he had been found, or one should say he had found her. Just before they had passed under the bridge, she caught sight of a smirk on the man's face accompanied by a small scar that caressed his lip in a pale tint. When reaching the other side under the bridge she immediately stood up and faced in the man's direction only to find that he had disappeared. Not wanting to give up the only probable opportunity she would have, Ealasaid quickly lept off the boat and onto a nearby ledge on the wall, getting herself on top of the main bridge line so she could look around. Gone. The man was just simply gone. Having the strangest sense that this was a game of cat and mouse, she ventured up to the rooftops, but not without trepidation for the chase. Still unknowing of the man's true intentions she could help but wonder if she was his target let alone if he was willing to listen. She would have to tread carefully.

Having made it to the rooftops by ladder, she peered around and noticed several guards in the area, none of which seemed to take notice of her presence. Wanting to stay out of trouble she bolted behind a tower wall. What was she to do now? She wanted to find Ezio either by rooftop view or by street view, but there were so many guards. It was a strong reminder as to why she so favored hunting at night instead of day. However, this was not to her dismay as it seemed something had caught the guard's attention and soon enough they began to cry out "assassino!" At first she thought she had been spotted, but as she turned her head around the corner she took notice of a white blur that had flashed by in the distance, the guards chasing after it like a hungry lion after a fresh meal. As her focused cleared, there was no doubt in her mind that it was Ezio that was running away. Whether he had got the guards to chase him on purpose or by accident did not matter. She had to get to her objective as she began to run, but it seemed running had proven harder than originally thought considering she had bruised ribs not to mention having to jump and then land with a harsh grace, making it ever more painful.

Arrows flew in the air as the man dodged each of them with ease, taking the worry out of Ealasaid as she hoped he would get away without any harm or her having to intervene. In the ensuing chase, the guards still unaware of her presence as she was a large distance behind them, she noticed it odd that Ezio was not fighting back. It was more of her own forte to run and avoid hurting anyone, but to see other assassin's practice such pleasantries was not common. It was either attack and kill those who aided the Templars, even if it was just their job so they could feed their family, or be caught and interrogated. However, she had to admit that it was a lot easier to dodge arrows then to stop and fight them off while risking getting ambushed by archers. So she had no choice but to keep running and deal with the pain as she followed the ongoing ruckus.

Ezio and the guards had run for quite a few minutes before the pure white assassin suddenly decided to take a drastic turn in his path as he jumped to a neighboring rooftop and then down a few levels. A few of the guards followed, but the rest stayed behind being weary and tired from the chase, leaving Ealasaid also rather exhausted since she had pain to deal with that slowed her down a lot more. This quickly proved to be a radical problem as the guards finally caught sight of her and turned their attentions to her being the new target.

"What? Look over there! ASSASSINO!"

Her eyes became wild as she realized she was now in danger. Nearly tripping over her own feet she sharply turned around and began to run in the opposite direction as some nearby archers began to fire arrows at her. Whether Ezio had intended this to be a double diversion so he could make his escape, or if he was simply just running away, was irrelevant now as Ealasaid was forced to flee for her life. She dodged what arrows she could, but one of the guards decided to pull a fast one as he took a small dagger and threw it, hitting directly into the back of Ealasaid's thigh as she was jumping midair across a rooftop to another. The instant jabbing sensation threw off her mid air flight rhythm as it made her jolt at the last second, hitting the edge of the next rooftop as she slowly began to slide off of it, catching the edge at the last second with one hand as she grabbed the dagger with her other and took out the weapon from her thigh. The guards and archers had made it to the edge of the rooftop as they were ready to aim and shoot at her. She had no choice but to let herself drop below as she let go and let herself fall into a haystack that was right beneath as luck had struck at the last remaining possible second.

Falling hard into the cart that was filled with the hay, she forced herself to quickly get out of it as she toppled over the side of its edge and onto the ground, immediately picking herself up, but just as she was about to bolt off in a run, a guard that was originally pursuing Ezio and had given up, was coming down the same alley way and quickly caught her from behind. She struggled as the guards from the rooftops were quickly descending, giving her little time before she would be ambushed with no escape and no choice but to fight. She wanted to avoid taking lives at all costs so she used what fighting techniques she knew to try to get out of the guard's grasp, first elbowing upward and backwards into the guard's face, twisting her body sharply, and then jabbing backwards into the guard's stomach with her other elbow. The sharp twist had caused one of her ribs to feel like it had cracked as she yelped out audibly, her voice echoing in the alleyway as she was finally set loose once more.

Staggering to get her balance again, holding her stomach ever more tightly, she began to run once again just as the rooftop guards had touched ground level, yelling and screaming "assassino" as they bolted after her down the streets. Adrenalin rushing and citizens crying out as they dodged out of the way, Ealasaid pushed her way through the crowds, trying desperately to find another route to take to ultimately take her out of the guard's sight, but the more she ran the more attention it drew as militants from nearby outposts caught attention of the ruckus and began to join in on the chase. It was like a rabbit running from a pack of wolves as Ealasaid was quickly beginning to lose strength and energy from exerting herself for too long. She was now desperate for help, but not all hope was lost as the ruckus was still in the attention of yet another man that stood in the shadows and watched. With the final guards passing by, this man followed after in silence. Tipping over crates and knocking over items for sale, Ealasaid used whatever she could manipulate to slow down her attackers as she cut down yet another alleyway only to come into…a dead end.

There was nothing to climb on, and nothing to hide in as she was instantly cornered, a now rather large group of guards smiling at the confidence that the chase was now over.

"Thought you could get away assassino?"

The leading guard approached as he appeared showing himself adorned with a metal helmet, chain link clothing, and a red cross symbol painted onto a pure white tunic.

"I'm going to have quite a bit of fun with you."

"Templar bastard," Ealasaid muttered to herself. It would be foolish to fight an entire group of guards and Templars in her condition as she attempted to make peace, "Look, I don't want to make anymore trouble. I will come with you in peace on the promise not to draw my sword…" but her efforts were in vein as the Templar merely laughed, taking heavy steps towards her "…peace is not an option for you, only death."

Her eyes became wild as it felt like death was approaching her, but then just as the Templar was about to strike, his arms raised high with his sword about to come down with a vengeance, he suddenly slumped over and fell flat face upon the ground, revealing a rather large dagger sticking out of his back, blood staining heavily into his white pure tunic.

Nearly shaking with sound relief, Ealasaid shot her gaze upwards as she looked at the entrance to the alley way to find that a man was standing idly in the position of having just thrown a weapon. It seemed like an ordinary man, but a man willing to help her out. And behind this man were similar dressed fighters that were giving the guards grief as a brawl broke out. The man that had thrown the dagger merely nodded his head in her direction and then quickly attended back to his friends to help out with the fight.

"Mercenaries," Ealasaid assumed as she slowly began to make her way towards the entrance to the alley, using the distraction as her getaway, but it seemed that luck was not entirely on her side as the Templar who was assumed to be dead was very much alive. He had staggered and forced himself to his feet as he took the very dagger that was meant to help Ealasaid, and had stabbed it through her side from behind. She cried out in agony as her screams echoed throughout the surrounding region, catching the attention of the mercenaries as one of them quickly ran over, taking his sword, and attempted to attack the Templar. The Templar quickly let go of Ealasaid, withdrawing the elongated dagger from her side, pushing her away just to catch the mercenary's sword strike at the last second as the two began to battle. The Scottish assassin had fallen partially to the ground as Ealasaid struggled to keep herself balanced. She groped along the nearby wall, using it as balance to keep her steady as she began to bleed heavily from the right side of her stomach.

She couldn't help but wonder what compelled these strangers to help her even though she was fully aware that not everyone was on the Templar's side, that there were those who aided the assassin's cause, but still it was strange to her as she staggered her way out of the alley and past the group of guards that was still busy being fought against by the mercenaries. Leaving a dripping blood trail, Ealasaid finally made her way down the street, citizens stepping away from her in caution as she slowly took steps to a safer area, barely holding herself up as her vision began to blur and the pain becoming ever more overwhelming with each step she took. Finally she had found her way towards a nearby bench as she plopped herself upon it, bleeding and injured, alarming two women that were sitting on opposite ends of it as they quickly got up and moved away from her.

Ealasaid did not care however as she just wanted so badly to rest, but there was nowhere to truly go and she did not know the location of any doctor. In the mix of daze and grave discomfort, something had caught Ealasaid's eyes as she looked towards the left and saw a man standing idly amongst a crowd, but he stuck out to her because his clothing was so different, his head completely covered by a hood… a hood.

"M-Merda," she stammered.

It was Ezio and he began to approach her. Her pain had caused her to become distrustful however as she was nervous by his approach. She still did not know his intentions and fear began to overtake her as she felt like a target being narrowed in on. Slipping off the bench she turned a corner down another alley as she made haste away from her new pursuing target to reach the other end. Had she been more alert and not in pain, then she would have logically reasoned that it was most likely Ezio that had sent the group of mercenaries to help her, but logical reasoning had escaped her from the pain she was in as natural fearful instinct took a hold of her, convincing her to continue running until there was a safe haven to be found. She could hear the man's steps become quicker as they were gaining up behind her, fearing she would be stabbed from behind once more as she sharply turned around and withdrew her sword.

"Stay away!"

The man simply stopped in his tracks as he held up his hands, showing he was unarmed and not going to attack.

"Quale è il suo nome?" He asked in his natural language for her name as she answered in a slight quiver, "E-Eal…asaid."

"Hmm, strange name for a boy. You put on quite a chase let alone a ruckus. Not very quipped in the ways of the assassin are we?"

His simple sarcasm blazed right by her as she continued to hold her sword, but not with much strength as her hand trembled from the weight of the blade.

"It is obvious you are not one of the Templars, but I must implore an answer from you when I ask if I am one of your targets."

Ealasaid's hand that held her sword slowly began to lower from pure exhaustion as she nearly dropped it, almost tripping over her own feet to keep from falling as she staggered into the alley wall beside her, slowly sliding along down it as she ended up sitting upon the ground. The pure white assassin saw this as opportunity to approach her, but she quickly lifted her sword once more with warning, keeping the man from taking any more steps.

"You are…E-Ezio Auditore…correct?" She managed to stammer between breaths.

"That would be correct." Letting out a deepened exhale, she lowered a sword a bit more as her eyelids became heavy. Ezio took another cautious step towards her as she gasped slightly, jerking back a bit away from him as he sighed.

"It is alright. I promise I will not hurt you, but I would appreciate it if you laid down your weapon so that I may attend to your wounds before you bleed to death."

Feeling he was being sincere, she finally let her hand become limp, sword still in grasp as her muscles relaxed from being so tense. Seeing that it was safe to finally approach the raven black assassin, he knelt upon one knee and slowly took her sword and placed it back in its sheath. Judging from the assassin's much smaller physique then his own he assumed Ealasaid was a young lad as he commented, "You seem to be able to endure quite a bit for a boy your age. You must have been trained in your youth, but it's obvious you are not from around here considering that name of yours. Tell me, where are you from?" He asked as he gently brushed back the top of her hood, revealing that she wasn't quite what he imagined her to be as his expression showed obvious surprise.

"Scotland," she answered in almost a whisper, the life fading from her body.

"A woman? Well now…that is…quite a surprise," Ezio nearly chuckled in response. This was the first time he had ever met a female assassin. It brought about an instant intrigue. Her hair was light brown and her eyes a grayish blue; typical features of northern European descendants, though normally those of Norway or Scotland had blonde hair and blue eyes. Nonetheless it was features Ezio was not used to seeing since the Italians displayed more of darker hair and eye features. Entranced as he was at the moment, she was fading fast and needed to get her to a doctor's attention. Not having the strength to hold herself up, she began to topple over as Ezio was quick to hold her up in his arms, gently lifting her above the ground as her assassin garments hung loosely. Ealasaid smiled as she looked up into the darkness of Ezio's hood that shrouded over his head now that she was able to see his face close up.

"Y-You're beautiful."

Ezio almost laughed as he took careful steps to carry here to a doctor, "I thought that was my line." His Italian accent was thick, but understandable enough and quite charming no doubt.

"What business brings you all the way to Italy?"

"You did. I was looking for y-you," as she began to gag and cough.

"We'll save the talk for later. I'm sure you have much to tell me."

Ealasaid had woken up hours later, not recalling at all that she had fell unconscious. All that she knew now was that she as in what appeared to be a doctor's medical room, laying upon a twin sized bed with a sheet covering her freshly bandaged body. She found it difficult to remember what happened to her to bring her here, but her thoughts were distracted from the sudden appearance of a man inside the room. She gasped at the sight, startled, and nearly fell off the bed as the man quickly went to her aid, just before she slumped over the edge.

"Woe there. You sure have a habit of falling. Not a good habit to have for an assassin."

When the word assassin rung through her head she then immediately remembered the previous day's events.

"Ezio?" She stated the name in question as the man had placed gentle strong hands upon her arms to bring her back to the bedside.

"Glad to see you still remember. Are you feeling any better?" Laying back down upon her
pillow, taking in a deep inhale, she replied, "I'll live. I've suffered worse before."

"Sorry to hear that," Ezio naturally giving a sympathetic view to think that a woman had to endure such pains. Now that they were in more private of quarters, Ezio lowered the hood upon his head as Ealasaid blushed. He was a gorgeous man and a gentleman as well. Although she preferred most of the time to be treated as an equal, being a woman had its strange benefits as it felt she was getting extra attention in a gentle and courteous manner, something she was not accustomed to. It was nice in comparison to her clan back at home. Her father showed affection in his own way, but it always felt rational and logical with a cold approach, never quite comforting enough. And because of the life she had chosen, there was no time for romance even though she greatly desired to be with someone one day. The one lover she had in the Fidelio clan only proved to be a great disappointment after finding him in bed with another woman. That was the first time in her life that she truly felt provoked to end a life.

"The doctor told me you had previous injuries before even coming here. I'm guessing you left home on unfinished terms?"

Thinking about her clan made Ealasaid remorse considering everything that had gone wrong let alone her family being in danger. She longed for finality in the ensuing situations at hand, but she knew that it would be a while before any closure could be grasped.

"If you're not comfortable speaking about it, don't feel obligated to tell me, but we can save that conversation for later after you've rested. In the meantime I'd like to take you to a friend of mine so you can rest in his home as I'm going to assume you have nowhere to go?"

"No," she sighed, feeling bad that she was going to be a burden.

"It's nearby. It won't be much of a problem."

"I'm sorry," she simply stated as Ezio cocked his eyebrow.

"For what? Making my day a bit more interesting?"

That managed to get a chuckle out of her as she smiled at him into those dark Italian eyes.

"Actually I should be the one to apologize. I knew you were running in the back distance behind the guards that were chasing me. I thought by easily diverting them to the ground level would help you, but it in turn made it worse. I thought you could have taken care…"

"…its alright. There's no way you could have known I was injured previously. And thank you for considering me able to take care of myself in a chase. If I was in tip top condition I could have just as easily gotten away, but my injuries slowed me down. I'm just glad you got to me at the last second before it was too late."

He smiled back at her as the doctor came back into the room. "Alright, I've done everything I could to help mend your wounds. Take this embalming liquid and put it over the cuts and bruises when changing your bandages. You should be able to notice a dramatic difference within a few days."

"Grazie molto, doctor."

"Si, si, just take better care of yourself signora."

Carefully sitting over the edge of the bed, she slowly began to stand to her feet as Ezio was quick to aid her balance. She used his arm to keep herself from staggering over as a near fainting spell hit her, but just as quickly passed.

"I would be grateful if you could help me into my robes…"

"…naturally," he agreed without hesitation as he grabbed her clothing and weapons, gently helping her into them as one by one she was shrouded once again in raven black assassin clothing.

"The blood stains…are gone?" She wondered as she noticed her outfit was completely blood free and patched up where she had been stabbed.

"While you were resting, I took the liberty to get your uniform patched up and cleaned. Didn't want you to start your day with bloody clothes. Only brings unwanted attention."

"Thank you so much. If only I knew how to repay your kindness…"

"…you can repay it by indulging me with answers to my questions, but first let's get you to Leonardo's shop."

"Thee Leonardo da Vinci? So it's true then that you two are friends."

"Yes, he has helped me greatly…"

"…in your search for a piece of Eden…"

"…ah so you know of them?"

"Yes. It's one of the main reasons I came to look for you."

"Why am I not surprised?" He rhetorically stated in sarcasm as he began to reach one of his arms under her legs.

"No, no it's quite alright. I think I can walk…"

"…oh, but I insist," he stated simply as he picked her up into his arms without question. She felt herself blushing as she was yet again being carried.

"Is this how you always treat the ladies?"

He smiled with courtesy, "What can I say? I've always had a soft spot for damsels in distress."

"Yeah, well you'll quickly learn just how much of a damsel in distress I am not."

-2 Days Later-

Feeling replenished from her injuries, Ealasaid was finally able to move herself around with a bit of more ease, but no more time could be wasted. Whether Ezio knew of Borgia or not was irrelevant as she at least had to warn him and do what she could to help him. Slowly getting out of bed she found her assassin robes folded and laid nicely upon a nearby tabletop, but next to the robes was a simple yet beautiful casual dress and a pair of shoes to go with it. She wasn't particularly fond of wearing dresses or feminine garments, but seeing as how Ezio had helped her thus far, it was only a simple courtesy to return in gratitude by indulging him in seeing her out of her much more concealing assassin uniform. Nonetheless she was flattered by the notion and yet more money he had spent on her. Slipping into the dress she found it to fit perfectly, causing her to blush at the thought that he was able to figure out her size so easily. Even though putting on the dress required much less movement then her assassin robes, it still proved difficult to stretch her muscles from the soreness of her wounds and seeing as how binding her breasts would only compress her ribs further, she decided to let her breasts naturally fill out the bust of the dress.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, "Come in."

It was Ezio as he entered casually, his hood brushed back from his face as he smiled at the sight of her.

"Ah good, the dress it fits you."

His gaze was much stronger upon her as she seemed completely different out of her robes; her hair unbound and snuggling along her shoulders, shimmering in the light and adorned upon her face was a bit of makeup. Dare she say he seemed a bit…nervous?

"What's wrong? Have you never seen a woman in a dress before?" She asked in near chuckling sarcasm.

"No, I've just never seen an assassin in a dress before."

She chuckled out further from the thought.

"I hope you like it. I wasn't sure what color you favored."

"You hit the nail on the head actually. Blue is my favorite color. I can't…thank you enough…"

"…well if you feel that bad about it I could think of one way."

He began to approach her with sensual stepping strides. She blushed heavily as he placed his hands on the desk on both sides of her, getting in real close. She wasn't used to such quick advancements and in such a short time of knowing the man. It left her speechless.

"You could ease my mind by staying here. I can tell how much you are favoring your left side. You are nowhere near any condition of walking around let assassinating."

"You're that concerned about me?"

"Well, let's just say it's not every day that I get to meet a fellow assassin who is in a dress."

She wasn't sure entirely of what he meant by his advancement, but she could no longer resist placing her hands upon his chest, taking in his scent as the heat from his body radiated off his pectorals.

"I'm sure you're not used to this sort of question, but may…I kiss you?"

He was surprised at first, but then a gentle smile crept along his face and then he simply leaned forward and drew in a kiss from her. Placing her hands on both sides of his face, he brought her in closer to himself, taking mind of her injuries. Maybe it was good that she was so injured for had she not been, she might have let him just make love to her right then and there. Needing a breath from the kiss, she withdrew back as she caught his inviting gaze. Sudden footsteps entered the room.

"Signor Ezio, I have finished decrypting another co…" his sentence caught midway as he looked upon Ezio and Ealasaid "…oh…forgive me I did not mean to interrupt."

"Ha, ha, Leonardo it's quite alright. I was just…helping her into her dress."

Leonardo merely and casually replied back in sarcasm, "I'm sure you were. Well, come to me when you are ready."

"Yes, its about time we talked."

The ice was sure enough easily broken as she sat down with the two at a table and explained everything; Borgia and her previous targets, the fall of her clan, how she ended up in Italy, the treasure of Eden, and soon enough her proposal on helping Ezio bring down the Borgia influence permanently."

Exiting memory block... … … …entering Animus desktop… … …entering hibernation mode…

The top of the Animus finally rolled off as Lucy unhooked Crystal from the I.V., shaking her head from feeling like she had dementia. Slowly sitting up from the Animus, she turned her sights to Lucy.

"I was right about my ancestor having direct ties with Desmond's. Borgia's dealings stretched further than I thought, but I'm surprised Ezio and Ealasaid never officially got together. There seems like such chemistry between the two, but she eventually got together with someone else…ow…my head. I don't think I'll ever get used to that thing."

"Love is funny sometimes. Get some rest. First time users can get a little antsy after their first session."

"Yes as if holding the girl's hand gets us very far," Shaun snidely commented with a typical British attitude.

"Nice working with you too, Shaun." Crystal replied in quick sarcastic distaste.

"Well whatever. I'm going to get a short nap in and we can continue from there."

Venturing back to the room to rest, she found Desmond to occupying the second bed. He was lying on it with his eyes closed as she crept in silently to make sure not to wake him.

"So how'd it go?" He suddenly asked, startling her, "Oh! Sorry dude, didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't. Don't worry about it. How did the session go, anything new?"

"The session went fine considering it was my first time. And Shaun is just as dickhole-ish as ever."

"Heh, heh, yeah he's that way with me too."

Pouncing upon her bed she laid on her stomach, resting her head into her folded arms. The room was as dull as any room could be with only one color of paint, two beds, and some carpeting, with nothing else to add to the scenery.

"Its weird being able to see your ancestors over multiple centuries like it's a movie."

"Yeah, takes some time getting used to. I heard your ancestor had some nasty injuries."

"Yeah, that wasn't very pleasant. I think in some aspects she's stronger than I am. Thank god we have anesthetics today."

"Yeah."

The two exhaled simultaneously as they caught each other's gaze. Crystal blushed slightly as she couldn't help but notice the similarities in his features compared to his ancestors.

"Hey, it'll be okay. We'll make it through this," he encouraged. His statement took her by surprise. She guess he could tell the discomfort on her face as well as the body language.

"As long as you're here, I know we can."

And then, he smiled at her.